Repower America

Philadelphia, PA — A comprehensive plan to make our nation’s buildings more efficient could save enough energy by 2030 to power all of the nation’s cars, homes and businesses for a year and a half, while saving Americans more than $500 billion, according to a new report by PennEnvironment.  These findings offer a preview of what Pennsylvania could achieve by adopting green building policies, such as the statewide green building code proposed by Governor Rendell in February, and the many policies being pushed by state and local officials who joined PennEnvironment in releasing the report. 

“Green buildings are a triple win for Pennsylvania, saving us money on energy bills, cutting global warming pollution, and helping to secure our energy future,” said Nathan Willcox, Energy & Clean Air Advocate for PennEnvironment.  “We have the technologies to realize these benefits, and now we need the policies to put these solutions to work.”

Nearly half of America’s energy—and 10 percent of the energy used in the world—goes towards powering our buildings, and much of that energy is wasted. And buildings account for 40 percent of total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, a major contributor to global warming. But PennEnvironment’s new report, Building a Better Future: Moving Toward Zero Pollution With Highly Efficient Homes and Businesses, found that by renovating old buildings, and ensuring new buildings use 50 percent less energy within ten years and are “zero energy” by 2030, we can cut U.S. global warming emissions at least 34 percent by 2050.  The report also outlines policy steps that local, state and federal officials can take to promote green buildings and make these benefits a reality.

PennEnvironment was joined in releasing the report by state legislators Rep. Matt Smith (Allegheny County), Rep. Kate Harper (Montgomery County), Sen. John Rafferty (Berks, Chester & Montgomery counties) and Sen. Daylin Leach (Delaware & Montgomery counties), all of whom have introduced state-level legislation to help promote green buildings in Pennsylvania. 

“Changing the future of Pennsylvania must start by building momentum,” Rep. Matt Smith (D-Allegheny) said. “Last year, we got the ball rolling by enacting my proposal to provide grants that encourage green construction and renovation. Next, I’m proposing that we require state dollars only be spent on green construction or renovation projects. I trust that PennEnvironment’s ongoing advocacy and expertise – like this new report - will help build the momentum among my fellow lawmakers needed to not only build more green buildings, but to develop a comprehensive green building strategy that benefits Pennsylvania’s future.”

“There is no better way to protect the environment and save on our energy bills than by investing in green building technologies. To encourage that investment, I have proposed a tax credit for the construction or renovation of buildings using green standards,” said state Rep. Kate Harper (R-Montgomery). “As the cost of energy rises and the green building technology gets better, the payback is about five to seven years, so building green makes a lot of sense for the environment, energy independence and the pocketbook.”

“My green buildings legislation is a win-win for the environment and reduces business energy costs,” added Republican state Senator John Rafferty who represents Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties.

“My bill SB399 will make it possible to circumvent the penny-wise and pound-foolish thinking that prevents real solutions to our environmental crisis.  The savings of a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) compliant building over the 30-40 year life span of a school will supersede the initial cost by significant amounts,” said state Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Delaware, Montgomery counties).  “By amending Act 34 my legislation would give schools the incentive to build cleaner, greener schools.  Not thinking about the future is what got us into this mess in the first place.”

Also joining PennEnvironment in releasing the report were Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, the Philadelphia Friends Center, Green Building Alliance and CJL Engineering.

“Southwestern Pennsylvania is a national leader in sustainable development and environmental stewardship, and my administration is continually working to keep us ahead of the curve,” said Allegheny County Executive Onorato. “Just yesterday, I announced that we would build the first publicly owned green roof in Allegheny County. We’re already home to the first LEED Gold Certified convention center in the U.S., and soon we’ll boast the first LEED Gold Certified arena in the NHL. As a community, we’ve taken steps to clean our air, water and land and to promote smart growth and green development – but we can and must do more. Green infrastructure is good for the environment and good for taxpayers.”

“Delaware Valley is well-positioned to implement green building strategies quickly.  We have leadership, expertise and commitment to make Philadelphia the best it can be,” said Jill Kowalski, Executive Director of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council.  “Philadelphia is home to several green building firsts.  Green buildings are key to managing future risk, strengthening our local economy and communities, and showcasing our leadership and expertise.”

“We at the Friends Center realized that the medium- and long-term benefits of building green were well worth the upfront costs,” said Erick Emerick with the Philadelphia Friends Center, whose building is being renovated to include a number of green building technologies and use no energy from fossil fuels.  “From the building’s geothermal heating and cooling system to the solar panels and green roof, our green building will be reaping tremendous economic and environmental benefits for years to come.”

“Given the mission of the Green Building Alliance to drive the green building movement throughout Western Pennsylvania, we are very appreciative of the work that PennEnvironment has done in preparing this report,” commented Holly Childs, Executive Director of the Green Building Alliance. “The facts speak for themselves—it is imperative, particularly given our current economy, that we enact policies based on investment in green building strategies toward long-term energy savings for both businesses and consumers.  We look forward to working with PennEnvironment and our state and local policymakers to advance legislation and recommendations that support green construction and energy efficiency.” 

PennEnvironment’s report calls for a comprehensive plan to make buildings more efficient, including:
•    Upgrading and enforcing building energy codes to require 30 percent greater efficiency by 2012 and 50 percent greater efficiency by 2018, and have all new buildings and renovated buildings meet these codes;
•    Setting codes to have all new buildings be “zero energy” by 2030, whereby energy efficiency advancements enable on-site renewable energy to meet all of the building’s energy needs; and
•    Stimulating investments in energy efficiency retrofits in all existing commercial and residential buildings before 2030.

The report then calculated the potential nationwide economic, energy and environmental benefits that could be achieved by adopting these measures, including:
•    Saving 144 quadrillion British Thermal Units (BTUs) of energy, or enough energy to power all of America’s homes, businesses, cars, and power plants for a year and a half;
•    Preventing 11.2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, nearly equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide emissions of the U.S. and China combined; and
•    Paying back upfront costs and netting more than $542 billion in energy savings from renovating existing buildings by 2031.

The recently passed American Reinvestment and Recovery Act represented a first and important step at the federal level towards increasing the energy efficiency of our buildings. This legislation provided $25 billion for weatherization and energy-efficient upgrades for commercial and government buildings.

At the state level, Gov. Rendell called for a statewide green building code in February, the legislators joining PennEnvironment to release the report have all introduced legislation which would promote green buildings in the public and private sectors.  PennEnvironment seconded Gov. Rendell’s call for a statewide green building code (which would set energy efficiency standards for new construction in Pennsylvania), and urged passage these other green building bills being promoted by the state legislators.

At the local level, Philadelphia Mayor Nutter’s recently-announced “Greenworks Philadelphia” project aims to make Philadelphia America’s Greenest City, and includes several goals that will require a focus on building green.  These include a target of reducing citywide building energy consumption by 10 percent, as well as retrofitting 15 percent of housing stock with insulation, air-sealing and cool roofs.  And as mentioned previously, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato announced yesterday that the county would be installing a green roof on the top of the County Office Building in downtown Pittsburgh.

At the federal level, Congress is considering the American Clean Energy and Security Act, currently being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill contains provisions to promote efficiency in new and existing building, and limits global warming emissions to science-based levels.

“Our environmental and economic future depends on taking bold action today to promote high performance, energy-efficient buildings,” concluded Willcox.  “We’re calling on local, state and federal leaders to pass the policies that will help make green buildings the norm instead of the exception.”